Activities Therapist

Description

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Summary:
The Activities Therapist plans, organizes, develops, and directs quality activities for patients, ensuring that the recreational, physical, intellectual, spiritual, and social needs of each patient are met in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, and Life Care standards. Activities Therapists work as members of a multidisciplinary treatment team. May organize and conduct music, art, recreation, or other therapy programs, depending on specialty.

This Activity Therapist will work on our mental health team at the medical center serving the inpatient psychiatric units. This position will receive additional training related to patient mobility and safety considerations specifically targeting the older adult population.

Responsibilities:
1. Must perform proficiently in all competency areas including but not limited to: general activities duties,, supervisory responsibilities, care plan and documentation responsibilities, patient rights, and safety and sanitation principles and techniques of therapy as applies in an acute care psychiatric facility
2. Must demonstrate understanding of basic medical and psychiatric terminology as well as basic regulations governing the treatment of people in psychiatric health facilities.
3. Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing while appropriately and descriptively charting patient progress and behavior. Maintain detailed records of activity programs and participation of individual residents, identifying progress toward established care plan goals.
4. Adapt treatment programs by graduating tasks to meet patient's level of function
5. Develop, organize, and implement a program of adjunctive therapy activities to meet the social, emotional, physical and other therapeutic needs of patients as identified on the patients' plan of care and within the specified budget.
6. Must be able to make regular in-room visits to patients uninterested or unable to participate in group activities
7. Must exhibit excellent customer service and a positive attitude towards patients. Coordinate and verify that assistance is provided to residents for activities and events as necessary. Create an ongoing calendar of activities, which creatively meets multiple needs and is accessible and appealing to both men and women of all ages and abilities.

Other information:
Education Requirements:
* Bachelor's Degree in human services field required
Licensure/Certification Requirements:
* No licensure or certification required.
Professional Experience Requirements:
* No experience is required
Knowledge/Skills/and Abilities Requirements:
* A variety of individual and group facilitation techniques* Demonstrated proficiency in arts/crafts/music is preferred* Knowledge of one or more therapeutic activity area such as recreation/occupational/music/art therapy; individual and group behavior and effective ways of working with clients; knowledge of the general nature of physical or mental illnesses/disabilities and/or developmental disabilities;* Ability to apply and adapt skills and knowledge of activity areas to planned sessions of therapeutic activities; Ability to foster interest, initiative, responsibility, and experimentation in clients and discourage inappropriate responses;* Experience facilitating therapeutic groups.* Familiarity working with forensic and/or psychiatric consumers preferred.

Legal Employer: STATE

Entity: UNC Medical Center

Organization Unit: Recreational Therapy Admin

Work Type: Full Time

Standard Hours Per Week: 40.00

Salary Range:$19.59 - $27.84 per hour (Hiring Range)

Pay offers are determined by experience and internal equity

Work Assignment Type: Onsite

Work Schedule: Day Job

Location of Job: US:NC:Chapel Hill

Exempt From Overtime: Exempt: No

This is a State position employed by UNC Health Care System with UNC Health benefits. If, however, you are presently an employee of another North Carolina agency and currently participate in TSERS or the ORP, you will be eligible to continue participating in those plans at UNC Health.

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran or political affiliation.

UNC Health makes reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as applicants and employees with disabilities. All interested applicants are invited to apply for career opportunities. Please email applicant.accommodations@unchealth.unc.edu if you need a reasonable accommodation to search and/or to apply for a career opportunity.